<h1>Zodiac</h1>
<h3>From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</h3>
<p>
Zodiac is a solitaire card game which is played with two decks of playing
cards shuffled together. It is an old game which first appeared in Lady
Adelaide Cadogan's book <i>Illustrated Games of Patience</i> is so-named
probably because of its "globe"-shaped layout.
<p>
First, eight cards are deal in a row. They form the cells which make up the
reserve, or the "Equator". Each reserve cell can only hold one card. Then
twenty four cards are dealt in a circle surrounding the Equator to form the
tableau, or the "Zodiac."
<p>
The game is divided into two phases: the first phases consists of playing the
rest of the cards into the Zodiac and the Equator; the second phase is the
building of the cards into the foundations.
<p>
In the first phase of the game, the cards in the Zodiac are built up or down
by suit; the build can change direction in the same pile. However, the cards
in Zodiac cannot be touched until the second phase. This means that until the
second phase starts, the cards in the Zodiac cannot be used to build on each
other. Also, any card build on a pile in the Zodiac stays there until the
start of the second phase.
<p>
The cards on the Equator are used to build on the cards on the Zodiac. The
space in the Equator can be filled with an available card from the stock or
the top card of the wastepile. However, filling a space is not compulsory,
i.e. a player can leave a space open for as long as the player finds it
advantageous.
<p>
Meanwhile, the stock is dealt one card at a time, and unplayable cards are
placed on a wastepile, the top card of which is available to be built on a
pile in the Zodiac or to fill a space on the Equator. Once the stock runs out,
the player can just pick up the remaining cards in the wastepile and turn it
face down to make it the new stock. The player can do this as many times as he
wants as long as there still more cards neither in the Zodiac nor in the
Equator.
<p>
Only when all cards are both in the Zodiac and in the Equator, the second
phase begins. The cards in the Zodiac and Equator are built straight to the
foundations. The foundations are built up by suit from Aces to Kings. The game
is won when all the cards are built on the foundations.
<p>
At any point in the game, when it becomes stuck, i.e. the cards in the
stock/wastepile cannot be built without blocking other cards during the first
phase, or encountering a block during the second phase, the game is lost.
<p>
Obviously the player must have great care and consideration in building the
cards in the Zodiac in order for the game to be won. Also, the layout of the
game is large when played with standard-sized playing cards. So, as a
suggestion, the player can just deal eight cards for the Equator and
twenty-four cards for the Zodiac to save space.
<p>
<i>(Retrieved from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_%28solitaire%29">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_(solitaire)</a>)</i>
